Underwater sports equipment, and a bridge connecting a mask and a breathing tube

ABSTRACT

An underwater sports equipment, comprising a mask, a breathing tube being independent of the mask, and a bridge connected between the mask and the breathing tube, so that the interior of the breathing tube is in fluid communication with the cavity of the mask, so that the user&#39;s nose can inhale or exhale through the breathing tube. 
     (FIG.  4 A)

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent application claims the benefit of U.S. Prov. Ser. No. 63/249,254 filed on Sep. 28, 2021, which is incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an underwater sports equipment, especially a snorkeling equipment allowing a user to breathe through his/her mouth and nose.

Descriptions of the Related Art

Except for the full-face mask, namely the Full-face snorkel mask, FFSM, almost 90% of the diving masks currently on the market, only cover a user's eyes and nose but not the mouth. That kind of diving mask 1, as shown in FIG. 1 , generally includes a lens frame 2, two lenses 3 for the left and right eyes (or the two lenses are integrally made into a lens portion), and a skirt portion 4 extending backward. The lens frame 2 is mostly made of rigid material, while the skirt 4 is elastic and made of soft material such as silicone, which not only extends backwards along the periphery of the lens frame 2, but is also integrally formed at the nose area to establish a nose pocket 5. When the user wears the mask 2, the skirt 4 can encircle from the eyes to the area, i.e., the philtrum below the nostrils, to achieve the airtight and watertight effect of the eyes and nose. The work of breathing is then handled by the mouth. That is, the mouth (M) containing the containing portion 8 a of the mouthpiece 8 (as shown in FIG. 1B) can be in air communication through the top 7 a of the breathing tube 7, and can perform part of air exhaust and water drainage through the purge valve 7 b.

Such a design can only rely on the mouth (M) to breathe, which is obviously contrary to the habit of ordinary people who still like to breathe through the nose, or use both the mouth and the nose to breathe freely, which significantly reduces the fun of snorkeling. Also, when the user's nose is sealed in the mask 1, the mask 1 is often slightly separated from the seal and water enters the mask 1 when the user misuse his/her nose to breathe hard. In this situation under water, the user often adjusts or moves the mask 1 by hand unconsciously, so it is very unsafe because of choking on water.

Therefore, to design a mechanism that can not only block water from entering the nose, but also breathe freely through the mouth and nose, will be a great breakthrough in water sports, especially snorkeling, and has become the goal that the industry is striving for.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Based on the existing design, the mask and the breathing tube are two separate parts, in which the mask is airtight and the breathing tube is air communicable. Therefore, the motivation of this invention is to make air communication between the mask and the breathing tube to achieve the goal of “mouth and nose breathing freely”. In this invention, a hollow air bridge is set up from an appropriate position above the mouthpiece of the breathing tube and the mask where the nostrils are aligned with, thereby making shortest distance and the most direct effect of nose ventilation.

In the sale of such a product, because there is only one more part of the air bridge, the volume of the package the sale product does not increase. When displayed, it is no longer as boring as a traditional mask, but becomes an advertised “the nose can also be free”. Functions such as “breathing mask” or “freedom like snorkeling in the air” obviously break away from tradition, naturally attract attention and greatly increase the degree of discussion and purchase desire.

A main objective of the present invention is to provide an underwater sports equipment, comprising: a mask, having a cavity, in order to accommodate a user's eyes and nose which are watertight and isolated from the outside; a breathing tube having a body and a mouthpiece extending from the side of the body. The mouthpiece has a containing portion for a user to put into his/her mouth to breathe, and a bridge which is connected between the mask and the mouthpiece of the breathing tube. This way, the interior of the breathing tube is in fluid communication with the cavity of the mask, so that the user's nose can inhale or exhale through the breathing tube.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide a hollow bridge for connecting an underwater sports mask and a breathing tube independently of the mask, wherein the interior of the breathing tube is in fluid communication with the outside, and the interior of the mask can also be in fluid communication with the outside through the bridge and the breathing tube.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram of a prior art snorkeling equipment.

FIG. 1B is a partial schematic diagram of FIG. 1A as to the portion of the breathing tube connected with the mouthpiece.

FIG. 2A is an exploded schematic diagram of the snorkeling equipment according to one of the embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2B is a rear view of the mask of FIG. 2A.

FIG. 2C is a schematic diagram of a user wearing the snorkeling equipment of FIG. 2A.

FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram of a user wearing the snorkeling equipment including another embodiment as to the bridge.

FIG. 3B is a partially enlarged, exploded schematic view of the connection relationship of the bridge of FIG. 3A.

FIG. 3C is a schematic cross-sectional view taken from the sagittal plane of FIG. 3A, with arrows showing the expiratory airflow from the user's nose and mouth.

FIG. 4A is a schematic diagram of a user wearing snorkeling equipment including yet another embodiment as to the bridge.

FIG. 4B is a partially enlarged, exploded schematic view of the connection relationship of the bridge of FIG. 4A.

FIG. 4C is a partially enlarged schematic view showing the user who is separating the mouthpiece from the breathing tube of FIG. 4B.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the bridge including a plurality of components.

FIG. 6A shows another embodiment of the mask having an isolated cavity.

FIG. 6B is a schematic cross-sectional view taken from a sagittal plane of FIG. 6A, showing a user wearing the mask.

FIG. 7A schematically shows another embodiment of the upper connector of FIG. 5 which is provided with check valves.

FIG. 7B is a schematic diagram of the shunt flow of the intake and exhaust of FIG. 5 , which is illustrated by dotted arrows.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In reference to FIG. 2A, an underwater sports equipment includes a mask 10, a breathing tube 20 and a bridge 30a. The mask 10 has a cavity 11 for accommodating a user's eyes and nose, and the user's nose and mouth are watertight and isolated from the outside when the user well puts on the mask 10. The mask 10 has a spectacles portion 12 and a water sealing skirt 13. The water sealing skirt 13 extends outward from the spectacles portion 12 and defines the cavity 11 together with the spectacles portion 12, as shown in FIG. 2B. A nose pocket 131 defined by the water sealing skirt 13 extends forward from a central area of the spectacles portion 12. When the user wears the mask 10 and tightens the head strap 14 which connects the two sides of the spectacles portion 12 around the user's head, a rear peripheral edge 133 of the water sealing skirt 13 is suitable for water tight fitting with the user's face (F). The breathing tube 20 has a body 21 and a mouthpiece 22 extending from the lower side of the body 21. The mouthpiece 22 has a containing portion 221 for a user to put into his/her mouth to breathe, as shown in the FIG. 2C. The mouthpiece 22 further has a connecting portion 222 that connects the containing portion 221 and the body 21 of the breathing tube 20, so that through the mouth, the user can inhale fresh air coming from the top 24 of the breathing tube 20, and through the purge valve disposed on the bottom 25 of the breathing tube 20, the user can discharge part of the dirty air and drain the water accumulated inside.

Further in reference to FIGS. 2A, 2B and 2C which show the featured points of the present invention. Specifically, a first opening 134 is provided on the bottom portion of the nose pocket 131, a second opening 224 is provided on the top portion of the connecting portion 222, and the bridge 30 a is connected between the first opening 134 and the second opening 234, thereby the interior of the breathing tube 20 and the nose pocket 131 are in fluid communication through the bridge 30 a. Of course, the positions, numbers, and types of the first openings 134 and the second openings 224 may be changed without limitation. Accordingly, because the bridge 30 a is connected between the mask 10 and the breathing tube 20, the interior of the breathing tube 20 and the cavity 11 of the mask 10 can be in fluid communication, and the user's nose is capable of inhaling or exhaling through the breathing tube 20. In addition, it must be noted that the way of connecting the bridge 30 a to the mask 10 or to the breathing tube 20 can be entirely or partially formed integrally with each other. For example, the bridge 30 a may be integrally formed with one of or both of the nose pocket 131 and the connecting portion 222. Those are possible options.

Usually, both the nose pocket 131 of the mask 10 and the mouthpiece 22 of the breathing tube 20 are components that come into contact with the human body, and water resistance should also be considered, so soft materials, such as silicone rubber, are selected to be made. Therefore, it is recommended to use a hard material for the bridge 30 a in between, such as a rigid material with a Shore hardness of D65 to D85 (or, but not limited to, a harder soft material with a Shore hardness of A50 to A95), so that the connection between the softer and the harder can be perfectly done by, for example, hose barb fitting. It is just like the softer material end 27 which is directly sleeved onto the harder material end 31 to be butted, as shown in FIG. 2A, so that the objective of watertight joint is easily achieved. Of course, the connection between the end of the soft material and the end of the hard material has the characteristics of convenience and material simplicity, but it is not necessarily to be like that. Any other method that can achieve the watertight connection, such as using a gasket between two threaded rigid ends, can be used instead.

FIGS. 3A and 3B show the bridge with another form. Preferably, the bridge 30 b is also made of a relatively hard material, and has a circumferential corrugated sidewall 32, in order to comply with the curved shape required for watertight connection with the nose pocket 131 and the connecting portion 222, especially when the user puts on the equipment, the mask 10 and the breathing tube 20 can better coupling and buffering effects therebetween under the different face shapes of different users. FIG. 3C further shows the state that when the bridge 30 b is installed between the mask 10 and the breathing tube 20, the airflow expelled from the user's nose (N) can, together with the airflow spit out from the mouth (M), enter the body 21 of the breathing tube 20 through the bridge 30 b. The airflow of inhalation can be analogous in a reverse direction and is therefore not indicated or shown otherwise.

In order to achieve better buffering and flexible bending effects, the distance between the nose pocket 131 and the connecting portion 222 can be lengthened, like another form of the bridge 40 as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B. Specifically, in this embodiment, the corrugated sidewalls 43 are partially arranged on the inner side of the bridge 40, so that the bridge 40 can be bent to comply with the face shape in a more flexible manner. In addition, in order to form a better fitting between the soft material and the rigid material, the bridge 40 can also be made of materials with different hardness. For example, the two end portions 43 a, 43 b are made of rigid materials with a Shore hardness of D65 to D85 (or, but not limited to, a harder soft material with a Shore hardness of A50 to A95), and the middle portion therebetween having the corrugated sidewall 43 is made of an even softer material, and these three portions are integrally formed by injection molding. In addition, because the mouthpiece 22 is a component that directly contacts the human's body fluids, such as salvia, the user has more concerns about cleaning. Since the soft mouthpiece 22 is often connected to the bottom of the hard breathing tube 20 by means of hose barb fitting, therefore, as shown in FIG. 4C, a tongue 225 can be added to the tail end of the connecting portion 222 of the mouthpiece 22, which is more convenient for the user to easily pull it up and disassemble it for cleaning or storage. It can be more hygienic if the mouthpiece 22 is an easily detachable part for personal use.

According to the same concept, the bridge can be made into several components, as shown in FIG. 5 , including a main body 53 and an upper connector 53 a and a lower connector 53 b, in which the upper connector 53 a and the lower connector 53 b are respectively watertight fitting with both ends of the main body 53. Preferably, the main body 53 is a flexible and bendable soft material, and the upper connector 53 a and the lower connector 53 b are inflexible rigid materials or harder material having a bit flexibility. In this way, it is also easy to obtain a soft-to-hard watertight fitting at each place of joint.

Conceptually, when a user wears a traditional mask and breathes by his/her mouth through a breathing tube, because the mask is isolated from the outside air, and the nose inside the mask does not spit out warm air, the lenses in the mask are less likely to be foggy. However, if the inside of the mask is connected to the outside and the nose starts to be able to breathe, the warm air exhaled will easily fog the lenses in the mask. The following solutions can address the issue. First, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, on the inner upper edge of the nose pocket 131, a partition 138 is provided to divide the cavity 11 into an upper chamber lla and a lower chamber 11 b. When the user puts on the mask, the upper chamber 11 a for accommodating the user's eyes (E) and the lower chamber 11 b accommodating the user's nose (N) are substantially air-isolated from each other, so that the warm air generated from the nose pocket 131 will not enter the upper chamber 11 a and interfere with the lens 17 to cause fogging. The second solution is to shunt the air intake and exhaust, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B. The upper connector 53 a is provided with a spacer 55 to form two air passages, and the two air passages are respectively provided with an intake check valve 56 and an exhaust check valve 57, so that the intake air and exhaust air entering the nose pocket 131 are separated. When exhaling through the nose, the dirty air will only be discharged to the top 24 and the bottom 25 of the breathing tube 20 from the exhaust check valve 57 through the bridge 50, and will not return to the nose pocket 131. The nose bag 131 can only receive clean and cool air entering from the air intake check valve 56, which reduces the chance of fogging of the lens 17. Of course, the above-mentioned measures for splitting the intake and exhaust air do not necessarily need to be located in the upper connector 53 a. Any other locations such as the lower connector 53 b, the main body 53 or the opening 634 on the bottom of the nose pocket 131 (as shown in FIG. 6A) are also feasible.

It is fully described in the above-mentioned preferred embodiments for the structure and operation mode of the technical means of the present invention, which helps to realize the technology and its equivalents; however, should not limit the claims as set forth in the last paragraph. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An underwater sports equipment, including: a mask having a cavity for accommodating a user's eyes and nose which are airtightly isolated from the outside after the user wears that mask; a breathing tube, which has a body and a mouthpiece extending from a side of the body, the mouthpiece having a containing portion for a user to contain in a mouth thereof; characterized in that: the underwater sports equipment further includes a bridge connected between the mask and the breathing tube, so that an interior of the breathing tube is in fluid communication with the cavity of the mask, so that the user's nose is capable of inhaling or exhaling through the breathing tube.
 2. The underwater sports equipment according to claim 1, wherein the mask has a spectacles portion and a water sealing skirt, the water sealing skirt extends outward from the spectacles portion and defines the cavity together with the spectacles portion, wherein the water sealing skirt is provided with a nose pocket which extends forward from a central area of the spectacles portion, and wherein the water sealing skirt has a rear peripheral edge being suitable for watertight fitting with the user's face.
 3. The underwater sports equipment according to claim 2, wherein the mouthpiece further comprises a connecting portion connecting the containing portion and the body of the breathing tube.
 4. The underwater sports equipment according to claim 3, wherein the nose pocket is provided with at least one first opening formed on a bottom portion thereof, the connecting portion is provided with at least one second opening formed on a top portion, and the bridge is connected between the at least one first opening and the at least one second opening, thereby the interior of the breathing tube is in fluid communication with the nose pocket.
 5. The underwater sports equipment according to claim 4, wherein the bridge is a hard material, and is connected with the nose pocket and the connecting portion in a watertight connection, and wherein the bridge has a hardness greater than a hardness of each of the nose pocket and the connecting portion.
 6. The underwater sports equipment according to claim 5, wherein the bridge has a circumferential corrugated sidewall to provide easy bending and buffering.
 7. The underwater sports equipment according to claim 4, wherein the bridge comprises a main body and an upper connector and a lower connector which are respectively in a watertight fitting with both ends of the main body, wherein the main body is made of flexible and bendable soft material, and each of the upper connector and the lower connector has a hardness greater than a hardness of the body.
 8. The underwater sports equipment according to claim 7, wherein the upper connector has a partition inside to form two passages which are respectively provided with an intake check valve and an exhaust check valve, to separate air flow into and out of the nose pocket.
 9. The underwater sports equipment according to claim 4, further comprising a partition, which is disposed on the inner upper edge of the nose pocket, and divides the cavity into an upper chamber and a lower chamber, thereby when the user puts on the mask, the upper chamber and the lower chamber are substantially air-isolated.
 10. A bridge for connecting an underwater sports mask and a breathing tube which is independent of the mask, wherein an interior of the breathing tube is capable of being in fluid communication with an outside, and an interior of the mask are also capable of being in fluid communication with the outside through the bridge and the breathing tube.
 11. The bridge according to claim 10, wherein the bridge is a single member.
 12. The bridge according to claim 11, wherein the bridge includes a plurality of components joined together in a watertight manner. 